Hawley Waited Until Greitens Became Politically Toxic to Investigate Charity Wrongdoing, Gave Local Prosecutor Only a Few Days to File Charges

FILE – In this June 21, 2017 file photo, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley speaks at a news conference in St. Louis. Missouri Republicans are coalescing around Hawley as their favored candidate to challenge veteran Democratic U.S. Sen. Clair McCaskill in 2018, which would set up a marquee contest between a wily incumbent and a fresh-faced political newcomer in a state that has trended conservative. (AP Photo/Jim Salter File)

Yesterday, Josh Hawley held a press conference to announce that he is turning over evidence to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney regarding Governor Greitens’ use of a charity donor list. What Hawley conspicuously avoided telling reporters was that he sat on the case for so long that the prosecutor now has only three days before the statute of limitations expires to file charges.

Hawley claims he didn’t have jurisdiction into the alleged misconduct until the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the charity’s involvement in February 2018, but the Associated Press reported in October 2016 that the donor list in question was created by a Mission Continues employee and last accessed by a Greitens campaign employee. As if that weren’t enough to prompt an investigation by the Attorney General, the Governor admitted wrongdoing to the MEC in April 2017 — nearly a year before Hawley announced an investigation.

“Hawley’s excuses here simply don’t pass the smell test. The facts make it abundantly clear that Hawley looked the other way to protect his friend and donor until it became politically untenable for him to do so.” — Missouri Democratic Party Deputy Communications Director Brooke Goren